Shocker SB at Lady Techster Invitational (Louisiana Tech)

[flyingMoose]

Saint Louis 0-3 Shockers

Kaitlyn Malone spun a four-hit shutout to enable the Shocks to go 4-0 in the Techster Invitational. She had three strikeouts and no walks. Only one of the four hits was after the third inning.

The Shockers put up a three-spot in the fifth inning. After two singles and a walk, Megan McCracken cleared the bases with a two-out double.

[flyingMoose]

How does wear and tear work at the upper levels of play? Does a team need 2-3 pitchers on their roster or can one pitcher dominate?

Most teams will use at least three or four pitchers in the early part of the season during the tournaments to see who is going to perform. Some rosters only have three pitchers, but we have four. Along with our senior, we have two who are freshmen and one who is a sophomore with limited experience. If you have to use more pitchers than three on a consistent basis, it probably means none of them are much good. :)

Once conference season starts, a coach has probably decided on two pitchers to carry the bulk of the load. But when a conference tournament starts, a coach may use only one pitcher if she is especially dominant or if a particular pitcher seems to have a hot hand.

[1972Shocker]

Saint Louis 0-3 Shockers

Kaitlyn Malone spun a four-hit shutout to enable the Shocks to go 4-0 in the Techster Invitational. She had three strikeouts and no walks. Only one of the four hits was after the third inning.

The Shockers put up a three-spot in the fifth inning. After two singles and a walk, Megan McCracken cleared the bases with a two-out double.

Very nice to see a well-pitched game. We needed that. So far Kaitlyn seems like she may have the best stuff. I don't think Hunter pitched this weekend did she?

[flyingMoose]

I don't think Hunter pitched this weekend did she?

No. But I thought the two freshmen could take something away from the weekend. Kaitlyn had the shutout, and Jenni came on to get a save after being roughed up earlier in the day. Pitching as a freshman at the D-I level is a learning experience.

[flyingMoose]

Other scores from late Saturday and Sunday:

Saint Louis 3-4 LA Tech
Jackson State 2-3 Saint Louis
UT-Martin 2-4 Jackson State
Houston Baptist 8-0(5) LA Tech

The Shockers were the only team with a winning record. After their 4-0 mark, three teams were 2-2 (Saint Louis, Houston Baptist, LA Tech) and two team were 1-3 (Jackson State, UT-Martin). On paper, this was not a particularly strong tournament, but it should be something for the Shocks to build on.

[tgcshock]

Saint Louis 0-3 Shockers

Kaitlyn Malone spun a four-hit shutout to enable the Shocks to go 4-0 in the Techster Invitational. She had three strikeouts and no walks. Only one of the four hits was after the third inning.

The Shockers put up a three-spot in the fifth inning. After two singles and a walk, Megan McCracken cleared the bases with a two-out double.

I'm thinking that St. Louis University is probably getting pretty tired of seeing sports teams with WSU on the jerseys.

[1972Shocker]

Congrats to freshmen Paige Luellen and Kelli Spring who were named to the All-Tournament team after going a combined 14-for-26 at the plate and accumulating nine RBI, two doubles, a home run and nine runs scored.

Randy Newman serenades Paige and Kelli.

:good:

[Hovpen]

Glad Coach B has given some of our Kansas girls a shot. The team competed well, came from behind and battled. That's about all a coach can ask for. Their reward is......they get to do it again this week.

[1972Shocker]

Glad Coach B has given some of our Kansas girls a shot. The team competed well, came from behind and battled. That's about all a coach can ask for. Their reward is......they get to do it again this week.

Looks to my unedjumucated eye that we will find out a lot more about where we stand after next weeks tournament in San Antonio with the Lady Shocks taking on Rutgers, UTSA, Oklahoma State and Colorado State. Looking forward to seeing how the Lady Shocks fare.

BTW, our two mighty-mite freshman, Paige Luellen and Kelli Spring were selected MVC Player of the Week and MVC Newcomer of the Week respectively.

http://www.goshockers.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPSID=61321&SPID=2845&DB_LANG=C&ATCLID=209403022&DB_OEM_ID=7500

I wonder if that has ever happened before where freshmen from the same team sweep those honors. Tells you what kind of a weekend those two young ladies had. Congrats Paige and Kelli.